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knows
what's happening to her right now!"
    He immediately looked remorseful, even apologetic, for his
outburst. But you could see the worry and frustration boiling
up inside him. His anxious expression never wavered.
    "You shouldn't assume she's in any kind of mortal danger,
Derek," I calmly suggested. "Don't forget that your fiancee is one
of the world's richest people. If she got a sudden whim to fly off
to Rome on a moment's notice to get you a birthday present,
she happens to be one of the few people in the world who could
actually do that."
    Derek seemed to turn on me, his expression dark. "Mortal
danger isn't my primary concern. I'm a lot more worried about
dangers to her soul than her body. The things you two were
meddling in . . . "
    Here wego, I thought. In the handful of times I had met Derek
in the past, he'd made it more than clear-in a sweet, passiveaggressive, read-between-the-lines kind of way-that he disapproved of his fiancee's excursions into the paranormal with yours
truly. And I suspected that it went even deeper than that. My past,
my beliefs, my family's claim to fame. All of it railed against his
rigidly held view of the world.
    But he'd never come across so belligerent before, so agitated and angry. Until today, I wouldn't have thought him capable of
such aggressive qualities.

    Cut the guy some slack, Maia. I reminded myself that the love
of his life had vanished, and he had to be feeling painfully helpless to do anything about it. That kind of thing would make the
saintliest of men turn wild and desperate.
    Still, I didn't take kindly to being accused of wrongdoing.
    "You can't possibly have any reason to assume that the trips
we took have anything to do with Jordin's disappearance," I stated
flatly. And then it occurred to me the absurdity of the statement,
since I had compelling evidence that there very well could be a
connection. Evidence in the form of Ghost Town amusement
park.
    Not that I was going to tell him that. Not yet, anyway.
    "It doesn't matter what I think," Derek replied, his ire shrinking to despair. "All that matters is that she's gone."
    I watched him, and despite how little I had in common with
Derek, I couldn't help empathizing with his pain. It surprised me
a bit, because I'm not exactly known for being the sympathetic
type. But something about his love for Jordin seemed so pure,
so desperate. I really think they needed each other, and were less
than whole when they were apart.
    Acting on impulse, as my mother likes to criticize me so often
for doing, I made my decision then and there.
    I was going to find Jordin Cole myself.
    "I'm going to find her," I said to myself, not quite realizing
I'd said it out loud.
    I had no idea what had happened to Jordin, and I didn't know
if what I saw at the amusement park was real. But I knew what I felt ... and what I suspected about the things Jordin was up to
right before she vanished.

    Which would mean I was at least partly responsible for this
entire situation.
    "You want to help me find her?" asked Derek. "Why?"
    I noticed for the first time that he'd been staring at me in
shock since my little declaration. My temper flared.
    "How many people are lining up to track her down for you,
Derek?" I retorted. "You said the police won't do anything. Are
you seriously going to question the first person who's willing
to try?"
    "But you're not a detective," he said, a halfhearted protest.
    "Not yet," I reminded him. "I am a criminal justice major."
    And an investigation ofthis nature wasn't beyond my capabilities at all. I was a senior at Columbia, studying criminal justice. I
had learned more than a few things about law enforcement investigation tactics in my classes here, and after graduation, I intended
to get a job as a police detective, and maybe one day the FBI.
    It was time to put the skills I'd learned over the last three
years to use. See if I really had a future as a detective.
    Derek was starting to